


walking on sunshine

by warouws



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: F/F, Female Friendship, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 09:51:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2768771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warouws/pseuds/warouws
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The nice thing about hanging out with Vika is that the other’s perfectly happy to carry a conversation on her own, so Serena listens to her steady chatter about the new painting she just finished, the concert she went to the other night, how she’s jealous that they get to go to Singapore for the championships this year, the antics the guys are up to on Twitter and this cute shirt she thinks Sascha will like, and—</p><p>“How’s Caro?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	walking on sunshine

 

Victoria is like the little sister Serena never knows she has. Not necessarily one she has always wanted, but sometimes being around her ( _Vika, call me Vika- she insists with a sunny smile and perpetually mischievous glint in her eyes_ ) makes Serena wonder if what she’s feeling right now is what Venus has always felt around her. Maybe not—the circumstances are different, and no matter how much Vika looks up to Serena, nothing will ever be like the relationship she had and has with Venus, then and now.

They meet in Paris; a pair of fellow sports fans accepting an invitation to attend a sporting event—this time it’s a soccer match instead of basketball because they’re in Europe instead of the States, and Serena meets her in the morning for coffee.

The place—Vika’s pick—looks new and is buzzing with young Parisian hipsters when she arrives, and Serena almost feels like she’s too old for the place except right now there are not a lot of places in the world she can go to if she keeps feeling that way, so she walks inside, orders a café latte in French and grabs a magazine for the wait.

Vika’s late by fifteen minutes-- a whirlwind rush of _I’m sorry_ and  _you look super great_ , asks the barista in English to make her a caramel frappe with extra whipped cream and absolutely ignoring the stink-eye he throws her way in order to beam at Serena with unrestrained glee. She’s practically bouncing to reach the table Serena’s sitting at, which shouldn’t be possible considering the protective shoes she’s wearing right now; but this is why Serena accepts Vika’s invitations even though she can rest her body for Singapore doing something else—because injuries don’t go away easily, but when you’re with someone who’s going through the same things as you, it’s easier to believe that it’s not pity radiating from the other side of the table.

The nice thing about hanging out with Vika is that the other’s perfectly happy to carry a conversation on her own, so Serena listens to her steady chatter about the new painting she just finished, the concert she went to the other night, how she’s jealous that they get to go to Singapore for the championships this year, the antics the guys are up to on Twitter and this cute shirt she thinks Sascha will like, and—

“How’s Caro?”

“Huh?”

If Vika notices that Serena’s been kind of ignoring everything she’s said, she’s too nice to comment. “How is Caroline? The last time I saw her was at Wuhan, it’s been a while and I really miss her. Whatsapp can only do so much, you know? And she talks a lot about you too, so now it’s her turn to be gossipped about,” she grins. “How is she?”

 _Well if you keep in touch with her on whatsapp you can ask her yourself,_ Serena wants to answer. But she can’t—doesn’t want to do that, because having people you can probably call _friends_ other than Venus, who also plays and competes with you on the tour is—well, it’s not new but it’s different, and there should be a rulebook for this, so she can know what the right words to say and if a person asks about this, does she mean _tennis_ or about anything _other than tennis_ , and so on. Vika’s injured, so she’s technically not on the tour right now, and Serena talks about many things with her too, about music and life and other things—so talking about Caro is okay, right?

“She’s—she’s fine.” Vika nods at her, urging Serena to continue. “I— um,” She has many things to say about Caroline, about the pictures of Bruno she shares yesterday, the latest attempt to bake cupcakes gone wrong. How she feels like she’s not ready for the marathon but she’s going to do it anyway, because _Singapore’s going to be a good prep, look at my group!_ And her excited updates about how everyone is being so nice for the fundraising she’s doing with the run. The big smile she always has when they chat online, that makes Serena feels so much better about her fitness even if it doesn’t make any sense and Caro can’t possibly know all the details about it.

(The fact that Serena has her phone in silent mode right now because she doesn’t want to end up texting with Caro while meeting Vika.)

“--I think she’s playing really good tennis, right now. She’s going to be tough to play against in Singapore, for sure.”

Serena stops right there. It’s enough, right? They’re players, Vika is a player—of course they’re talking about tennis, but they’re also not talking about tennis—nobody in their right mind will share about injuries and training blocks and improvements—but Vika just looks at her as if expecting her to continue, to say something, anything more about Caro, and when it’s evident that Serena’s done with her answer, Vika looks so dejected that Serena almost wants to apologize, but that means there’s something she needs to apologize for, which there are none. At least she thinks so.

They finish their drinks in silence, and the awkward quietness follows them as they walk outside. They’re waiting for Vika’s taxi when she finally addresses Serena.

“Are you going to New York for the marathon?” Vika asks.

Somehow Serena knows that answering _what for_ and _I’m not the one running a marathon_ or _how do you even watch a marathon?_ are not the answers the younger girl is asking for.

“I’m thinking about it.”

Serena pretends to ignore the way Vika’s face lights up at her answer. “You should! You should do that. It’s going to mean so much for her. Really.”

Whatever question about why her appearance in New York is going to mean something dies on her lips as Vika gets her phone out and squeals _and now, let us take a selfie!_ and Serena smiles uncertainly to the camera, feeling like she just told Vika an important secret, one she doesn’t know she has until the words come out.

 

 

* * *

 

Back at the hotel, when Serena opens up her phone to upload her photos, there are messages waiting.

 

_watched the football yet? hope u & vika have fun xx_

_& don’t call it soccer or ill be mad_

_i know u can’t eat popcorn there but football is cool ok. wait can u??_

_> > basketball_

_but basketball is ok too!! i like watching it with u_

_saw vika’s selfie :D skype me when ur done? :) and say hi to vika_

 

 

* * *

 

When Serena texts Vika to tell her she’s not going to the football match tonight, the other girl just replies with a smiley face and _say hello to caro from me._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

>  **Disclaimer:** This didn't happen, it's not real.
> 
> After Serena exited from the Wuhan tournament [because of viral illness,](http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/11573614/serena-williams-falls-alize-cornet-second-round-wuhan-open) she took time to go to Paris before going to Singapore for the WTA year-end championships, reportedly to watch a football match between PSG and AS Monaco. There are no pictures of Serena at the match, [but Vika was there.](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/victoria-azarenka-attends-the-french-ligue-1-between-paris-news-photo/456707688)
> 
> Serena and Vika did meet in Paris before the match: [their](http://instagram.com/p/twCFTZDLcp/?modal=true) [selfies.](http://instagram.com/p/twD1zUMTKE/?modal=true)


End file.
